Fireworks
by missscarlatti713
Summary: Takes place between Seizure and Code. Ben's sister returns to Morris Island with startling news. She's also a Viral. To add to the confusion someone is causing minor damage to Charleston landmarks and buldings with minor explosives. When the bomber sets one off in Morris it gets personal and the Virals set out to find him.
1. Chapter 1

_**I'm not exactly sure about this one. I just really love these books and wanted to write this. So please let me know what you think. And I don't own Virals. I only own Jess and any others characters I come up with as the story goes on.**_

Chapter 1

Tory's POV

"Where is Ben?" I asked glancing at the bunker entrance for the tenth time in the past fifteen minutes. Earlier we all agreed to meet the bunker.

"For the millionth time Tor, we don't know." Hiram Stolowitski said without even looking up a he threw a tennis ball for my wolf dog Coop. The ball bounced off the wall and rolled to my feet. I picked it up and tossed it across the room.

"He'll be here eventually Tory." Shelton Devers said glancing at me before returning his focus to the computer screen.

"He's not normally late. He knows it's important that we figure what happened to us." Another glance at the entrance.

You're probably wondering what we're talking about. A few months ago the four off us got infected with an experimental strain on parvovirus when we saved Coop from the parvo experiment. At first we had major flu like symptoms, but after that faded we were different. The virus changed our genetic blueprints, leaving canine DNA in our double-helixes. We were Virals . When we flared we had wolf like senses and speed.

I probably sound crazy, but it's true. No one knows except for us and Dr. Marcus Karsten who created the virus. But he's dead so he can't tell anyone or even explain the virus to us. And no we are not responsible for his death. That's another story.

That's why we were meeting today. Ever since we found Anne Bonny's treasure I had the bunker tricked out with some insane computer equipment so we could research the virus and try to figure out what happened and how our new found powers work.

Finally Ben came through the bunker entrance. Before I could say anything Hi pounced first. "It's about time you showed up. It's downright cruel to be late and leave us to deal with an annoyed Tory Brennan. How could you possibly put us in a dangerous situation like that and act like everything is fine?" Hi had a flair for drama and sarcasm.

Ben just rolled his eyes. "I got a little held up arguing with Jess."

Shelton turned away from the computer screen. "You mean she's finally been released from solitary?"

"Yep." A voice said as Jessica Blue appeared from the bunker entrance.

I haven't seen Ben's sister in months. It was mostly because like all of us she's a bit of a science geek. She's really into boats, computer stuff, gadgets and forensics like her brother, Shelton, Hi, and I respectively. But her main interest is a little more dangerous. Jess had a knack for explosives. She lives for Fourth of July fireworks and she has admitted to setting off a few firecrackers in the off seasons.

Her latest stunt was actually a chemistry assignment. I didn't ask for details, I really didn't want to know. In the name of this assignment she ended up mixing a very explosive brew. She had the unfortunate luck of her dad walking in the room the moment it caught fire. After recovering from the burns she was grounded indefinitely. Which didn't stop her from staying in the bunker and watching Coop from time to time while he was still sick. Until she got caught. She then was sent to serve the rest of her sentence across the harbor in Mount Pleasant with her mom.

I knew that Jess knew we stole Coop from Karsten's lab. What I didn't know is whether or not she knew that we were Virals.

Hi was the first to react. "It's about time you made it out. You've been missing all our brilliant ideas."

Jess grinned. "You meant the ones that involve committing multiple felonies?" Seeing our faces she laughed. "Ben's been keeping me in the loop. I have to say the one I respect the most so far is stealing that map from the museum."

In our defense we did return it unharmed. Well mostly unharmed. I had to write something on it, but it was on the back so no one viewing it on display will see.

I still wasn't sure why she was here so I glanced at Ben and tilted my head toward the door. He nodded and followed me outside. "Ben I know she knows about Coop and our many felonies and I do love her to death, but why is she here?"

He sighed and shifted his feet. "Because Tory, she's a Viral too."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Tory's POV

Ben's revelation about Jess threw me. I admit I had always wondered if she had also been infected given the amount of time she spent with Coop. I just couldn't believe that she could be a Viral and I was only learning it now.

"How come we never knew?" I asked still not believing it and not sure if I wanted to believe it.

"She started feeling sick right after she got sent to Mount Pleasant. She told me a week after we solved the Heaton murder. I wanted to tell you guys but she wanted to tell you herself. Figured it would be easier to believe."

_No way this is happening. On the other hand, she would probably figure it out eventually Viral or not._ "Ok then. Now that that's settled, let's rejoin the welcome party." I said heading back into the bunker.

Jess's POV

I was catching up with Hi and Shelton on their felonies and my months of eternal boredom when I noticed a stunning lack of Tory and my twin. "Where did Tory and Ben go?" I asked.

Shelton and Hi looked at each other not sure what to say. Which meant Tory was asking Ben why the heck I was here when they were conducting official Virals business. Since Ben was most likely telling Tory right this moment I figured why not tell them.

"Guys, I know how you were able to pull of solving the Heaton case, finding Anne Bonny's treasure, and your multiple felonies. Ben told me-" I was then cut off by Hi.

"He told you!? After we all agreed to keep it a secret? I know you're his sister, but come on. We agreed to keep it between the four of us." He thought a minute about what he just said. "Not that we don't trust you." He added. "It's just something we don't want anyone else to know."

I paused to see if he would continue to rant. When it became apparent he was done I continued where I was cut off. "Ben told me because I'm Viral too."

I might as well have said that I set off a nuclear bomb. I would have gotten the same result. Shelton and Hi were speechless. Their awestruck expressions on their faces were exactly the same. Eyes saucer wide, jaws practically on the floor.

I laughed as I said, "If you guys don't close your mouths you're going to catch flies or the more likely bet would be mosquitoes. "

They automatically closed their mouths, still in shock. Shelton recovered first. "How?"

"I spent a lot of time watching Coop while you guys were off having adventures. I caught the virus from him the same way you did."

Hi finally recovered. "But you didn't get sick."

"I got sick after I got caught and sent to Mount Pleasant. I couldn't call you guys because first I was grounded then you got grounded."

Shelton took a turn at questioning me. "Why didn't we learn this sooner? If Ben was able to tell you about us why couldn't he tell us about you?"

"I wanted to tell you guys myself. Figured you wouldn't believe it if I didn't tell you myself."

Shelton then for some reason looked relieved. "This is brilliant. Now maybe you can balance out Tory's insanity. Every plan she comes up with involves felonies. Maybe with you around you can talk her out of the lunacy if all her plots."

I raised an eyebrow. "Have we forgotten why I was grounded? And I've been pretty much mentally going along with every plan Tory came up with. Sure I would have given my own opinions on how things should have been done, but I totally would have gone with pretty much everything."

As Shelton groaned and muttered something about being the only sane one around here Tory and Ben reentered the bunker. One look at my brother told me she knew.

"So now that you all know, now what?"

Tory took over. "We were meeting to do a little research on the virus. Trying to figure out what exactly happened and how things go from here."

I nodded. "I took advantage of my moths if empty time and did some research. I'm pretty sure I read every medical book that mentioned parvo in the Charleston library. When I figured out that Ben was sneaking out to the bunker to meet you guys I snagged my notes and annoyed him until he let me tag along. Thought you guys might want to see what I've got."

Shelton had turned back to his computer screen, but Hi jumped up to take a look at what I had. Just as I was about to ask what they thought about what happened and how our flares worked Shelton's shocked voice came from over at the computer. "Guys, you might want to take a look at this."

We all gathered around and looked over his shoulders. What we saw was a cut from a news cast. A video clip of an explosion near a park. It was a really small scale explosion, but still seeing something blow up in an area you pass on the way home from school every day is freaky.

"When did this happen?" Tory asked.

"According to this news site, around 5 this morning." Shelton said scanning the article below the video.

I did the math in my head. "That was five and a half hours ago." Alright it was not super hard, but I finished before everyone else.

"Why would someone try to blow up a park?" Ben asked.

Hi tried to out question him. "How about, why would someone try to blow up anything?"

I wasn't so sure about blowing things up being the point. "Shelton replay it for me please." He complied. There was a small flash of light before a fire ignited. What no one would notice without looking at the sky was bright green and blue sparks that appeared with a loud crack.

I realized what I was looking at. "Guy's blowing the park up wasn't the point. This guy used fireworks. Probably your average garden variety kind you buy when July rolls around."

Brother mine looked skeptical. "As much as I know you know about dangerous explosives Jess, last time I check fireworks don't normally set everything around them on fire when you light them. Not if you're using them correctly."

Ouch. Doubt really hurts a person. "You know your doubt in my abilities hurt. And he could have used an accelerant. Just light the fuse, toss the match, and run like hell."

Tory nodded. "Possible, but still, what's the point? Why is he doing this?"

We all tried to come up with a reason. Nothing fit. Maybe it was a statement but what was he trying to say?

As we continued our contemplation of this event Shelton glanced at Tory and started shaking his head. "No. No way. I've had enough of dealing with crazy people. We are leaving this one to the cops."

Tory didn't try to fight him, but she looked disappointed that we weren't looking into it. "Chill Shelton. It's one explosion. We can't jump in without giving the cops a chance."

I could tell by the look on her face she had something else up her sleeve. "Spill Brennan. What are you thinking?"

She rolled her eyes and said, "I'm thinking that if there's an explosion number three we'll jump in."

The two of us grinned at each other while Shelton groaned.

_**So what do you guys think? Please let me know. Reviews make me smile.:~)**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Sorry it's been so long. My computer spazzed out and I had to get it fixed. But it's fixed now so please read, enjoy, and review.**_

Chapter 3

Jess's POV

After a couple of hours with no real progress in understanding what has happened to us we were getting restless.

"Let's face it," Hi said tossing a tennis ball for Tory's wolf dog Cooper, the same dog we caught the virus from. "We're not going to find anything helpful unless Karsten kept an online blog about his secret illegal experiment."

I rolled my eyes. "Despite the drama, Hi's right. Maybe we should cool it on the search for the day and take a ride out to Loggerhead. It's been way to long since I've been there."

Tory considered for a moment then nodded. "Let's go, maybe we'll see Whisper's pack."

We shut down all the killer computer equipment that Tory bought with a cut from Anne Bonny's treasure and headed to the dock where my brother keeps his boat _Sewee_. Don't get the name? Ben deeply believes we are descended from the Sewee, a Native American tribe. Everyone keeps telling him that it's impossible to be sure because they were absorbed into the Catawba tribe about a hundred years ago. He's more stubborn than a mule though so he ignores them all. Me? It's cool of we are, but I'm not believing too hard in either possibility.

Pretty soon we were motoring out into the harbor and headed toward Loggerhead Island. Loggerhead and Morris are held in trust by Charleston University. The Loggerhead Island Research Institute is located on Loggerhead and the Morris townhomes house workers and scientists who work for LIRI. Our dad Tom runs the shuttle, Tory's dad Kit got bumped up to Director a couple weeks ago, Hi's father Linus and Shelton's dad Nelson work in technology, and Shelton's mom Lorelei is a vet. Just so it's clear LIRI does not do medical or product testing, they strictly do veterinary medicine and behavioral studies. What do they study the behavior of? Monkeys.

That's right. Loggerhead is mainly open for the colonies of rhesus monkeys to roam free. It's awesome. Since our parents work there we're allowed to go there as long as we stay out of trouble, which we usually do. I love it there. There's nothing more fun than spending some time hanging out in a giant monkey cage. And there's always a chance of seeing Whisper and her pack.

A few years ago a scientist found a half dead wolf pup in a snowdrift. Feeling he had no other choice he took her to his next posting, Loggerhead. At some point he lost track of her and left when his study was done. She then became the unofficial pet of LIRI and nicknamed Whisper. Somewhere in that time a male German Shepard entered the scene. The first wolf dog pup was born a few months later. Coop came some time later.

We pulled up at the main dock. Tory, Shelton, and I hopped onto the dock and snagged some mooring lines. Within a couple minutes we were properly docked. Hi stumbled off the boat followed by Ben. Anticipating the worst I took a couple steps back from Hi. "You going to be ok Hiram?"

"Just give me a minute," he said slowly. I kid you not you could see the green tinge in his skin. Noting this I backed up another step. Hi is very prone to seasickness and I've seen more than enough of it.

Tory didn't show the same level of concern as I did. "Come on. If we move fast we won't run into Hudson."

That motivated everyone. One of the changes that came with Kit taking over the director position was the new head of security, David Hudson. I've never met him myself, but with what Tory and the guys have told me, the only person more against us visiting the island was Karsten.

We skirted around the compound fence and headed into the woods.

_**I know it's mainly background. I'll try to update again soon.:~)**_


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